Henry Marshall Wins Laser Radial Youth World Championship

Dublin, Ireland (July 30, 2016) – After a week of fickle winds, the KBC Laser Radial World Championships closed strong with three races in the Mens, Boys, and Girls fleet to determine the World titles.

Henry Marshall (USA) won the Boys title, earning the first career world title for the primary training partner of U.S. Olympic Team Laser Radial athlete Paige Railey. The Girls title went to Zoe Thomson (AUS) with Marcin Rudawski (POL) convincingly claiming the Mens title.

It was a day to celebrate for the USA team with notable results including Henry’s brother Jack Marshall who took 5th in the Open Men’s competition, Sophia Reineke who took 4th in the Girls Class, Anna Weiss who took 8th, and Christina Sakellaris who finished 10th. Americans Chase Burwell and Hallie Schiffman also medaled in the U17 class.

From left: Chase Burwell, ODP Travel Team Coach Brendan Casey, Sophia Reineke, Anna Weiss, Henry Marshall, Christina Sakellaris, and ODP Travel Team Coach Rulo Borojovich.
©Cathy Sakellaris/US Sailing.

Marshall was dominant in the early part of the regatta, and only briefly relinquished his lead during two of the later races of the event. “Heading into the last race, I was mostly just happy to be in the mix for gold,” said Marshall. “I’d lost my lead in the shifty conditions, and there was just so much riding on each race.” Marshall took second in the final race, securing gold for the United States.

Henry Marshall after winning.

Marshall noted that training with Railey and US Sailing coach Mark Littlejohn (NZL) has been a primary driver of his improvement. “The training with Paige, Mark, the US Olympic Development Program and the US Sailing Team Sperry since November has meant everything to me,” said Marshall. “We’ve been putting in so many hours of work, and all of that was put to use [this week]. They really took me under their wing. It’s been great to see how much professionalism the team has, from boat work to racing to the gym, and all the other pieces that make you elite. I’ve been soaking up as much as I can.”

Littlejohn said he was not surprised by the result, and that Marshall served as an example of what can happen when a strong strategic plan is paired with a dedicated athlete. “[ODP Director] Leandro Spina’s dream was to give talented youngsters the opportunity to advance their skills quickly by training alongside the Olympic program,” said Littlejohn, who has coached multiple sailors onto the Olympic Games podium. “The system is working, and this is big news for US Sailing.”

“I’m excited about the ODP, and so is everyone else,” said Marshall. “This is a rising movement, and America is getting to the top of youth sailing. That will follow through on the Olympic level.”

When asked if he had any message for Paige Railey as she prepares for the start of Olympic sailing competition on August 8th, Marshall said he his thoughts would be with her in Rio de Janeiro.”Tell my ‘big sis’ to go get ’em. Her hard work will pay off.”

Racing for 350 Laser Radials from 48 nations was scheduled on July 25-30.

Event details – Results – Facebook

Source: US Sailing Team, Scuttlebutt